Race recaps by Steve Mazzone from the championship races at the 2014 NXN Northeast Regional.
Boys
As the maroon and white jerseys made their way across the line it appeared evident. Once its fifth runner finished, meet emcee Ian Brooks pre-maturely announced the obvious to the spectators at the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) Northeast Regionals Saturday afternoon.
In convincing fashion on the snow-covered trails of New York’s Bowdoin Park, La Salle Academy was the team champion.
With a gap of less than 17 seconds between their five scoring runners, the R.I. school punched their ticket to Portland, Oregon for next week’s national meet. La Salle did it with a significant 63-102 victory over pre-race favorite and runner-up Christian Brothers Academy of N.J.
“They definitely went through the roof on this one and did a great job,” head coach Ken Skelly said. “I am very happy with the way they performed.”
In somewhat of a surprise, at least to everyone but himself, Connecticut’s Austin Gilbert of Ridgefield broke away from a tight pack of five runners with roughly 200 meters left to claim individual honors with a time of 16 minutes, 1.2 seconds. He edged Christian Brothers’ junior Blaise Ferro, who was timed in 16:02.70 for second overall.
La Salle, a consistent power all season long with wins at the Great American X-C Festival and the state and New England championship meets, executed its race plan to perfection on Saturday. With the course narrowed considerably due to the eight inches of snowfall at Bowdoin, particularly on a challenging incline just short of the mile mark, the Rams had a simple instruction from their coaches – get out quickly!
“I positioned myself right around the half mile,” Skelly said. “I was very happy with the start. We talked about making sure they were attentive to that first 150 meters. They did an excellent job of making sure they earned their spot. When they came into that half mile and I saw them there, I couldn’t have been happier. I think they executed the race plan perfectly in getting themselves into position early and being able to go up that hill and not have to deal with traffic and focus on racing.”
Christian Brothers, which defeated the Rams at the Bowdoin X-C Classic on Sept. 27 at the same venue as the regionals, never had a chance against the Rams. La Salle secured its first-ever team crown by packing its first four runners before CBA’s second harrier was able to finish.
The New Jersey squad’s top two runners were Ferro and junior Nick Trigani, who was 20th in the field of 292 participants with a 16:35.10 clocking. In between those placements was La Salle team members, sophomore D.J. Principe (eighth, 16:17.70), junior Matt Bouthillette (ninth, 16:18.90), junior Jack Salisbury (13th, 16:26.50) and senior Jake Grundy (19th, 16:33.90). Senior Dan Paiva completed the scoring by finishing 23rd at 16:38.60.
“This is excellent,” Skelly said. “It’s great for these boys. I think all seven of them - D.J., Matt, Jack, Jake, Dan and finishing up with Chris (Notarianni) and Jamie (Placco) - it was a great moment. I am so happy for them. It’s great to be part of that ride.”
It’s a ride that Skelly feels could possibly continue against the nation’s best next Saturday.
“Let the chips fall as they may. We are going to run our best. There is no question about it,” the La Salle coach said. “The kids have done an excellent job and who knows? We just talk about being in the moment and doing the best job we can with the race that is coming up. I think they can do it. I think they can put themselves up there. We are not going to do it with a little more training to go. We will show up in Oregon and try to win it all. I think they’ll be up there. That’s a tough thing to do, going against the top 22 teams in the country. It’s going to be hard to do. I do think we have a lot of confident and talented kids. It’s going to be anyone’s game and we are just hoping it tips in our favor a little bit.”
Outside of recent Foot Locker Northeast winner and one of the country’s top talents, Alex Ostberg of Darien, Gilbert is among the best harriers in Connecticut (and the region). He was fifth at the State Open meet and third at the New England Championship. He also owns a 5K best of 14:57.61, which he did in winning a track race at the New Balance Twilight Series on May 10.
Still, despite his accolades, he was not listed among the favorites to take the NXN regional crown. He used that snub to his advantage.
“I was surprised I wasn’t listed,” he said. “It just motivated me more.”
From the start, Gilbert stayed in contention with the lead pack, one that featured Ferro, West Windsor, N.J., senior Nikhil Pulimood (third, 16:05.20), Cardinal O’Hara, Pa., senior Kevin James (fourth, 16:05.90) and Cherry Hill, N.J., junior Craig Conti (fifth, 16:08.0).
Gilbert utilized patience on the winding course that is uphill for the first half and downhill coming back.
“(The pace) was pretty slow,” he said. “It was really snowy going up the hill. I moved to the lead pack when it came to the straightaway with 1,000 meters left. I decided to go for it at the final hill. I just told myself, ‘It’s time to go.’”
Gilbert learned later that Connecticut swept the boys’ crowns at the two regional meets with Ostberg’s victory at Foot Locker. Another state rival, William Hall senior Ari Klau, was third in that meet.
“That’s great,” he stated. “Connecticut is really strong. I moved to the state my junior year. It’s really special to be in such a strong state.”
The top two teams and first five individuals that are not part of those squads earn berths to the nationals. Representing the northeast region in Oregon will be La Salle and Christian Brothers as well as Gilbert, Ferro, Pulimood, James, Conti and sixth-place finisher Aaron Groff of Cherry Hill, N.J.
Girls
While fellow state rival Brianna Schwartz of Shaler Area was dominating the field at the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals at New York City’s Van Cortlandt Park, Pennsylvania’s No. 2 runner was doing the same at her regional competition a little more than an hour away.
Pennsbury junior Olivia Sargent, a runner-up to Schwartz at the recent PIAA State AAA Championship, took control early and was never challenged at Saturday’s Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) Northeast Regionals, covering the snow-covered five-kilometer course at Bowdoin Park in 18 minutes, 18.20 seconds. Sargent was comfortably ahead of runner-up Sierra Castaneda of West Morris Central, N.J., who was timed in 18:37.60.
“I finished second at my state meet a couple of weeks ago. Coming in here, I wasn’t really sure,” she said. “I was definitely more confident. Last year I finished (eighth). I just wanted to run out here and feel the way I did at the states; just try and find my way to the finish.”
The Keystone State made it a clean sweep in the girls’ race with Unionville claiming its second straight team plaque with an 84-144 decision over second-place Coe Brown, N.H. La Salle Academy of R.I., the pre-race favorite, suffered a few casualties with some of their top runners falling on the course and finished third overall with 160 points.
The top two teams and first five individuals earned a trip to the nationals on Saturday in Portland, Oregon. La Salle learned later in the night that it would be one of the four at-large squads chosen to toe the line at NXN.
Unionville, which placed second to Pennsbury at the Nov. 1 state meet, had a top finish from senior Olivia Young, who was third overall in 18:39.30. She was just ahead of South Kingstown, R.I., freshman Ellie Lawler (fourth, 18:44.10). Rounding out the top 10 was Coe Brown, N.H., junior Eiisabeth Danis (fifth, 18:52.20), Downingtown West, Pa., sophomore Aislinn Devlin (sixth, 18:52.20), Coe Brown senior Hannah Parker (seventh, 18:52.80), Oyster River, N.H., junior Maegan Doody (eighth, 19:00.00), Hillsborough, N.J., junior Stephanie Mauer (ninth, 19:02.60) and Ridgewood, N.J., senior Carleen Jeffers (tenth, 19:08.50).
In addition to team representatives Unionville, Coe Brown and La Salle, individuals that qualified for next weekend’s championship race are Sargent, Castaneda, Lawler, Devlin and Doody.
Despite the talent on the line, Pennsbury’s Sargent didn’t hesitate to do the pace-setting right away. She already held a sizable cushion by the time she reached the first uphill climb just short of the mile mark.
“With the snow at the start, it was hard to get your footing,” she said. “Once I had a clear path, I kind of made my way to the front and just kind of took over.”
Sargent, who has a 5K best of 17:48, was prepared for the unfavorable conditions. She has trained through the white stuff in her home state leading up to the regionals.
“It was snowing where I am so I kind of got a little freaked out about that,” she said. “When you race in the snow, you just kind of have to adjust from it. I was ready for it.”
With a squad whose strength is more suited for endurance than speed, Unionville coach Mark Lacianca didn’t mind the eight-plus inches of snow on the course.
“We thought the slower the course the better we were,” he said. “We do so much aerobic work that the longer the race the more it benefits us.”
All five of Unionville’s scoring runners broke 20 minutes on an up-and-down course that was at least 20 to 30 seconds slower than usual. Senior Gretchen Mills was 13th overall in 19:17.70. Junior Kacie Breeding (17th, 19:33.40), sophomore Anna Juul (28th, 19:43.00) and sophomore Eilzabeth Edwards (39th, 19:57.40) rounded out the scorers.
Unionville has limited its out-of-state competition this season, competing at just the Reebok Manhattan Invitational in New York City where it defeated second-place Fayetteville Manlius, 76-80, on Oct. 13.
“This year we just wanted to take it easy at the beginning of the season and give it our all the second half,” Young said. “It’s a long season to train, starting at the end of June until now. We just wanted to make sure we were still strong at the end of the season.”
Winning NXN has been on the minds of the Unionville runners since last November.
“Really since last year we said we want to get back,” Young said. “It’s been on our minds in practice - ‘We need to get past this repeat to get to NXN.’ This is just our motto. That was the goal.”
Results: Championship Boys - Championship Girls
Photos: NXN Norheast Regional by KBRAZ2K
NXN Northeast Regional Upper Loop
